Is There A Secret To Career Growth If You Are In Radio?

I have so much respect for anyone in our business of radio in 2015. Survivors. Multitaskers. Wizards of content. Even now, many broadcasters may be thinking about life beyond radio, but I hope they are thinking about themselves as content generators and listeners. That’s because content generators can use their learned skills in a variety of formats and spaces. That’s growth potential in any career.

Being a great content person in 2015 and beyond will mean:

1. Being a great listener. That’s right – you. The more you work on your “listening” skills, the better you will be in targeting the content to really touch the people you most want to influence and engage.

2. Not taking yourself too seriously and focusing on others. Perhaps I should have said that the other way around. Focusing on others will make your content more people-focused and more valuable to those you most want to impact.

3. Keeping it simple. We’ve all heard this. The smarts ones may not be the people with the complicated formula that is too difficult for the rest of us to follow. Genius is making things simple for everyone. Keep it simple and the public will follow.

4. Validating those you want to serve. Sorry. We live in this everything-at-your-fingertips society. People expect what they want right now. How do you set yourself apart? Validate them. Give them experiences that are beyond what they expect and put them at the center of those experiences. The results will be….very good.

5. Thinking service-first. We all want to be served. Yes, even you. We’re all selfish. Yes, even you. Do the unexpected and create a culture in your social media and on-air, as well as in everything you do, of being service-first and you will see your personal growth and business growth soar.

Bonus: Be as visually “smashing” as possible. If you’ve been reading me for a long time, perhaps you think I am harping. I’m not. Visual is #1. Use it. The old days when TV owned this are gone. You can use smashing photos and vibrant video to set your corner of the (social media) world on fire. By the way, setting yourself apart in all parts of your job and having a visual trail leads to growth for you and your career.

Why are these tips valuable to your career? You’ll stand out. Really stand out. They will say, “We get it.” They may not even be able to put their finger on it, but you’ll shine like there’s no tomorrow. Except you’ll thrive tomorrow.

Go make this happen. Still in radio in 2015? Congratulate yourself for being a champion and survivor. For living the dream and being persistent. Use these tips to get ahead in your social media and change the way you are viewed by those you work with and for, as well as listeners.

Loyd Ford is the Direct Marketing, Ratings & Social Media Strategist for Americalist Direct Marketing and works with local radio clusters to launch and grow significant local-direct reoccurring digital revenue with Rainmaker Pathway Consulting. How much local digital revenue are you getting? He works with media brands all across the country to improve ratings and participation with custom contest strategy, telemarketing, strategic direct mail and social media for radio clients and he works directly with clients to boost significant local-direct digital revenue for local clusters. His interests include social media, digital local-direct revenue and non-traditional revenue for radio. And, yes, he believes you should be receiving more share of digital revenue in your local radio market along with higher ratings. Don’t just read. Get engaged in the process. Contact him directly @ 877.475.6864 or Americalist1@aol.com. Loyd works with digital brands, including GreatUpstate.com and also hosts a local on-demand podcast where he lives called The Stories Of The Upstate podcast all about people in Upstate South Carolina. You can subscribe for free on iTunes or get it on the home page under the “Upstate Stories” tab @ GreatUpstate.com.